Theophylact of Ohrid, on Jas 5:13

“Is any of you sad? Let him pray. Is he cheerful in mind? Let him sing.”

“Let prayer accompany suffering, so that for the one being tried the way out of trials may be easier. Then, when our agitations have been stilled through prayer and the soul has attained the state proper to it, let it sing psalms, so that its blessedness may be multiplied, for the singing of psalms, according to Basil the Great, produces a peaceful and sorrowless state of the soul. Whoever has not attained such a state, which David calls holiness, urging the saints to sing to the Lord (Ps. 30:4), the prayer of such a one long remains mere idle talk.”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.